Job 33:2
in Job 33Behold, I will open my mouth; my address is on the tip of my tongue.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold now, I have opened my mouth; My tongue hath spoken in my mouth.
KJV
Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue hath spoken in my mouth.
⋯
This verse in Job 33
Commentary
8 notes on this verseWherefore, Job, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words. Behold, I have opened my mouth; let my tongue speak in my throat. But in the midst of these sentences which he utters, based on solid truth, he again bursts out into words of pride, saying, Wherefore, Job, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words. Behold, I have opened my mouth; let my tongue speak in my throat.
This site's exposition
O Job, hear my speech
on Job 33:1-4
“But now, O Job, hear my speech” addresses Job by name, the first speaker in the book to do so. Gill reads “My words are from an upright heart” as sincerity against the friends' speeches. Henry notes that Elihu asks only the honest hearing Job had asked of his friends.
This site's exposition
the tip of my tongue
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read mouth as palate. A man who will open his mouth should first try his words, as the palate tries food, before they reach the tip of his tongue. Aquinas adds that respect for his elders had kept that mouth closed.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
So that Job does not ask the reason why he did not speak before he says, "Behold, I have opened my mouth," as if to say: Before when I was silent, I had kept my mouth closed out of reverence for my elders, since now …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), with deliberation and design. Upon mature consideration he had already begun to speak, and was prepared to go on if Job would encourage him by his attention. That he was resolved to speak as he thought and not otherwise (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Behold, now I have opened my mouth,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
My tongue hath spoken in my mouth - Margin, “palate.” The meaning is, that since he had ventured to speak, and had actually commenced, he would utter only that which was worthy to be heard. This is properly the commencement of his argument, for all that he had before said was merely an introduction. The word palate - “in my palate” (בחכי bechêkiy) is used here because of the importance of that organ in the act of speaking.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
mouth--rather, "palate," whereby the taste discerns. Every man speaks with his mouth, but few, as Elihu, try their words with discrimination first, and only say what is really good (Job 6:30;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּה־ | hineh- | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| נָ֭א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| פָּתַ֣חְתִּי | patachti | I open | H6605 → | 144 times |
| פִ֑י | fi | mouth my | H6310 → | 498 times |
| דִּבְּרָ֖ה | diberah | it speaks | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| לְשׁוֹנִ֣י | leshoni | tongue my | H3956 → | 117 times |
| בְחִכִּֽי׃ | vechiki | on palate my | H2441 → | 18 times |
הִנֵּה־here!
hineh-H2009 →843 times
נָ֭אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
פָּתַ֣חְתִּיI open
patachtiH6605 →144 times
פִ֑יmouth my
fiH6310 →498 times
דִּבְּרָ֖הit speaks
diberahH1696 →1141 times
לְשׁוֹנִ֣יtongue my
leshoniH3956 →117 times
בְחִכִּֽי׃on palate my
vechikiH2441 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 78:2I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
it leads to
- Matthew 13:34–35
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable.
- Matthew 13:11–13
He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
- Mark 4:34
He did not tell them anything without using a parable. But privately He explained everything to His own disciples.
- Psalms 49:4
I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:
- Proverbs 1:6
by understanding the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
- Matthew 13:34–35
Through
Matthew 5:2and He began to teach them, saying:
it leads to
- Acts 8:35
Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
- Luke 6:20–26
Looking up at His disciples, Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
- Acts 8:35
Through
Job 3:1After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 20:14–15
Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me never be blessed.
- Jeremiah 20:14–15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Job
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXIII; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.